Best (funny but true) Reason to Shoot One Handed

So a friend has gotten back into recreational pistol shooting but complained about his uncontrollable shaking hands making it difficult to be accurate. He also became curious about bullseye style shooting I am learning. So he calls me recently and announces that he’s much more accurate shooting one handed than two handed… “because it’s a lot easier for me to aim when I’m only fighting one trembling hand and not two!”

We both thought that was hilarious and can’t stop joking about it at the range.

Btw, with a little practice he’s improving a lot. So I bought him Bruce Martindale’s new pdf book so that he can learn the basics without me trying to give him tips. It’s awesome to have a buddy that wants to learn the sport.

As I get older I have found that there are some things you can't control. Shaking is one of them. I have also found out (even though I'm just starting on the journey) that I shoot timed fire better than slow fire. 
The best targets I have shot have been timed and rapid fire. I guess what I'm saying is embrace the recoil and time the recovery. I know, how un-scientific! But for me it's true. Like a golf swing, timing is everything. And it does in my mind at least mitigate the tremble in the hands.
As the dot comes back into the black from the previous shot, let it go. 
Probably the worst observation ever but it is something I noticed.

My "shake" is not too bad - so far! But what I have found, and it drives me crazy, is that I regularly shoot tighter groups in TF and RF, compared to Slow Fire. I usually train at 25 yards outdoor or 50' indoor, so target black diameter, range and ammo are all directly comparable during one session.

At one time I used to put 9 targets up on a custom made frame so that I could shoot a complete "900" in one session without having to go down range repeatedly (fixed target, using a timer on my phone for TF/RF). Hence I could immediately see and compare group sizes when I retrieved the frame. More recently that practise was criticised by one top shooter (thank you JZ) and confirmed to not be a good idea by another (thank you JE), so I don't do that now, but group sizes continue to be noticeable.

Hopefully I did not offend anyone in my original post. I meant no offense and realize that shaking hands is a serious and debilitating condition for some people. My buddy and I are long time friends… and self deprecating idiots.

RodJ,

FWIW, I thought that your original post was frank, yet light-hearted, and might help other wannabe bullseye shooters overcome their trepidation and give it a try.

Well done you!

RodJ wrote:So a friend has gotten back into recreational pistol shooting but complained about his uncontrollable shaking hands making it difficult to be accurate.  He also became curious about bullseye style shooting I am learning. So he calls me recently and announces that he’s much more accurate shooting one handed than two handed… “because it’s a lot easier for me to aim when I’m only fighting one trembling hand and not two!”

My hands are not perfectly steady, but I find with two hands on the gun, one hand balances out against the other, and the gun finally feels reasonably steady - but it took a LOT of dry-firing to accomplish that.

The one, single, best, perfect, piece of advice I found was to NOT fire my gun.  Really.

Instead, with the gun aimed at the target slowly and smoothly increase the pressure on the trigger, and at some unknown point, the gun will fire on its own.

You do NOT want to shoot like the "good guys" until you get so used to just applying trigger pressure, WITHOUT knowing the exact moment the gun will fire.  

Three recent targets, all shot two-handed at only 15 yards, with an ancient and very heavy S&W Model 28 revolver.  The target at the left was shot as I just described.  The other two targets were shot normally.  I was wondering if I could shoot deliberately as well as using the wait for the bang method.  Nope.  ALL my dry-firing is now shot in the pull slowly and smoothly method, and not shot "deliberately".



As a side note, I have tried for many years to shoot one handed.  It always end up with the same result, a sore shoulder/arm.  Several days later I'm back to normal.  When I bought my 1911 I couldn't even hold it up in front of my one handed.  Now I can, and I can almost hold it steady - but after a few minutes of this, the pain returns.  Heck, I'm 79, and the reason I shoot is because I enjoy it.  

Just to add - when I do hold up my gun in front of me, one handed, the gun is further away from my eye, and momentarily it now feels more steady than when I use two hands.  Maybe before I die, I'll reach the point where I can shoot one handed.
 
Oh, and a question - you wrote "because it’s a lot easier for me to aim when I’m only fighting one trembling hand and not two!"  Depending on the shaking, it might be that the two hands are shaking in a way that the mass of the other hand and his body cancels out much of the shaking from the opposite hand somewhat.  

Final thought - ask your friend to hold up several different guns in front of him, and if some of them "shake" more than others.  The only person I know of who understands this is Larry Nelson, who makes the Nelson conversions.  Changing the gun around, even adding an optical tube sight, can make a huge difference in the amount of shake.  But that belongs in another discussion.   I'm happy for your friend, that he found something that works for him!  :-)


Added later - I have no idea if this will help your friend or not.  I still want to shoot one handed.  Maybe he'll find it useful, maybe it will make no difference.  Sorry if I'm just wasting time by suggesting this.

Thanks Mike. I’ll pass this on to him. Fortunately we are only 60 years old (with the minds of 14 year olds) and our joints are mostly intact. His hands really do shake a lot for no apparent reason.

Btw, that’s a nice target on the left - even two handed! Seems like you have developed a good process.

RodJ wrote:......His hands really do shake a lot for no apparent reason.....

Thanks!

The name for shaky hands is likely "tremors", of which there are several different kinds.
A doctor could diagnose this.
One of the most difficult kinds to treat I think is "essential tremors", but searching the internet there are possible treatments.
My brother has it, bad.  He still can shoot, but not like before.
My other brother has them also.
At times I think I have tremors - my hands sometimes start to shake. but with both hands on the gun, it seems to neutralize them.
There are other kinds of tremors that I've read are easier to treat, and maybe minimize.

There is a long list of possible causes - I found that out while searching to help my brothers.

For me, holding up a heavy gun starts my hand shaking.  With two hands, I can support it better.
Dave Salyer built me a magazine filled with lead - that's what I use for dry-firing.  When I pick up the gun without it, my 1911 feels like it's made from plastic.